Finchglow Holdings is set to establish a flight training school at the Gateway International Agro-Cargo Airport in Ogun State as part of efforts to strengthen aviation human capital development and expand local capacity for training pilots and other aviation professionals.
The Group Managing Director of Finchglow Holdings, Bankole Bernard, disclosed the plan during a media briefing in Lagos, saying the proposed facility would build on the group’s existing aviation training capabilities.
According to Bernard, the school will initially focus on core flight training, with programmes covering piloting and aeronautical engineering. He said the initiative would be structured as an extension of Finchglow’s existing aviation training licence, rather than a completely new licensing process.
“NCAA cannot stop the game because we have our license already,” Bernard said. “This is just going to be an addition to our existing license, it’s not like they’re starting anything fresh. They will approve our extension, inspect the facility, and once we have the application from the state government, the rest is history.”
He said the choice of Gateway Airport was driven by its operational advantages for flight training, particularly compared with the congested airspace around Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
Bernard noted that the Ogun facility offers greater airspace availability, lower traffic density and modern runway infrastructure, creating more suitable conditions for flight manoeuvres and frequent training sorties.
“We are already at a point where we don’t have to wait any longer,” he said, indicating that the group intends to move ahead with the project without further delay.
The planned school is also expected to help address the shortage of trained aviation personnel in Nigeria while reducing the financial burden on students who travel abroad to obtain flight training. Finchglow said developing training capacity locally could also help retain foreign exchange within the Nigerian economy.
Bernard said the company would prioritise training standards and quality rather than compete primarily on affordability, noting that maintaining international standards would require significant investment.
“We cannot start talking about affordability because what is important first is to create something that will appeal to the people,” he said.
Beyond the flight school project, Bernard discussed broader challenges facing Nigeria’s aviation industry, including the collection and remittance of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
He defended the integrity of the International Air Transport Association’s Billing and Settlement Plan, saying tickets processed through the automated system do not create revenue leakages because applicable charges are automatically remitted to the relevant regulatory agencies.
Bernard also stressed that the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge is funded by passengers and held by airlines in trust for the regulators, rather than being airline revenue, and should therefore be remitted promptly.
He called on the government to consider writing off uncollectible aviation-related legacy debts accumulated over 10 to 15 years, arguing that this would allow the industry to start from a cleaner financial position.
Bernard further advocated greater digitalisation across airports, including the replacement of manual passenger-counting processes with automated systems to reduce discrepancies in data among aviation agencies.
He urged airlines and regulators to strengthen transparency, adopt global best practices and uphold ethical standards, saying these measures would help improve investor confidence and support sustainable growth across Nigeria’s aviation sector.
